In various ways, the question of representation is present in our culture and in our conversations at General Conference this year. In the midst of a contentious election season, the election of delegates to conventions represent the votes of the people often means a skewing of the actual vote tallies. For example: Mr. Donald Trump…
Legislating Trust #gc2016
I serve on the Rules of Order Committee for our Iowa Annual Conference. These rules are basically the organizing and structural principles that guide our shared work and life together – both within our 3-4 day conference sessions and for the rest of the year. We’ve been working hard to clarify and “clean up” the…
Tears, Comfort, and Old Hymns
This morning, our church choir shared some of the great hymns of the faith with our church in a cantata style celebration of music. Instead of our traditional Easter cantata, we picked some of our favorite hymns, our fearless leader researched their stories, and we presented a morning of lessons, messages and songs. And tears…
Blessed are the Debonair
This morning, we celebrate God’s good creation. We celebrate the gift of this world… this earth that has been placed in our care. And I’m sure you are wondering as you heard the scriptures for today and look at that sermon title… what in the world do these things have to do with creation care?…
Untitled
Later this morning/This morning, I’m sharing these words with our Confirmation Class – 10 remarkable young men and women who have worked hard all year long to arrive at this moment. This sermon is in part for them, but it is also a message for all of us and so I hope you are willing…
Thoughts on “UMC: Revisiting Human Sexuality”
Today, I saw an article by Rev. Dr. Steve Harper, the former Vice President and Dean of the Florida Campus of Asbury Theological Seminary called “UMC: Revisiting Human Sexuality.” He writes about a topic that has arisen at every General Conference in my lifetime… and will again in May. My only experience of this discussion at…
A Different Kind of Proof
A man named Bob Ebeling thought he was a loser. Mr. Ebeling was an engineer on the Challenger Space Shuttle and discovered that the O-ring seals in the rocket might not hold up in the cold temperatures of the 1986 launch. He and fellow engineers pleaded with NASA to stop the launch, but they decided…
Love, apologies, and prayer breakfasts
I sat in a room filled with hundreds of Christians and felt a little bit like an outsider. This was the second year I’ve attended the Iowa Prayer Breakfast… held every Maundy Thursday in Des Moines. It includes prayers for our state and leaders, music, and a keynote message. On the site, it clearly states…